Method and apparatus for drying and truing up ceramic pipe



y 3, 1941- J. M. w. CHAMBERLAIN ET AL 8, 90

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND TRUING UP CERAMIC PIPE 3 Sheets-Shet 1 Filed March 17, 1938 Jame: 4i 1% timrar/w INVENTORS 8 ATTORNEY.

y 1941- J. M. w. CHAMBERLAIN ET AL 2,248,490

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DRYING AND TRUING UP CERAMIC PIPE Filed March 17, 1938 SSheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY y 1941- J. M. w. CHAMBERLAIN ETAL 2,248,490

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR vDRYING AND TRUING UP CERAMIC PIPE Filed March 17, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY.

Patented July 8, 1941 ma'rnon APPARATUS r TRUHNG UP 1 .Fames M. W. Cmberlain, Akron, and id A. Bur-nip, Cleveland, Ohio, asslgnors to United States Stoneware Company, Akron, Ohio, a cor= poration of Ohio Application March 17, 1938, Serial No. 196,338

15 Claims.

Our chief objects are to shorten the time re-.

quired for drying and to provide for reshaping or truing-up of the pipe during the drying operation.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is an end elevation of a drying and reshaping rack embodying and adapted for carrying out our invention in one of its preferred forms.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

I Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section, on line tof Fig. '2, of a bearing bracket and its adjustable supporting means.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation, from the right of Fig. 2, of a bell-end pipe and means for supporting and re-shaping its bell.

Figs. 6 and '7 are similar views showing other forms of bell-supporting and re-shaping means.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating still another form of bell-supporting and shaping means.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a modification.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of another modification, especially adapted for pipes of the T or Y type. such a pipe and a counterweight being shown, in section, on the apparatus.

Fig. 12 is an end elevation, from the left of Fig. 11, of the assembly shown in Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a cross-section on line 53-43 of Fig. 11.

Referring to the drawings, the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 5 comprises a two-deck lower frame formed of longitudinal angle-irons II, M, l2, l2, vertical angle irons l3, l3, and angle-iron cross members it, it; and a removable upper frame formed of longitudinal angle irons l5, l5, vertical angle irons l6, l6 and angleiron cross members it, ii.

For removably holding the upper frame upon the lower frame the former has studs or dowels l8, l8 (Fig. 3) mounted in plates l9, l9, welded in the angles of the vertical irons of the upper frame, the studs or dowels being adapted to fit in holes formed in plates'it, 2t welded in the angles of the vertical irons oi the lower frame.

The lower frame is provided with castors 2i, 2! and adjusting screws 22, 22 (Fig. 1) for leveling or so adjusting the position of the frames as to cause pipes, such as the bell-end pipes 23 mounted upon the rack, to drift slightly in one direction, preferably in the direction of their bell ends as to pipes or that type.

Supporting means for the body portions of the pipes comprises rollers 26, 2% which, to support the pipes up to, and even within, the region of curvature of their bells, are formed with rounded ends, as shown at 2t, 2t (Figai and 2) and without trunnions are journaled at the bellends of the pipes in half-bearings 25, 25.

It is desirable that the supporting rolls 26 be adjustably mounted for spacing them differently for pipes of erent diameters, their lines of contact with the pipe preferably being a distance apart about equal to half the external diameter of the pipe, and to provide this adjustment their half-round bearings 25, 25 at the bell-ends oi the pipes and their full-circle bearings 26, 26 at the opposite ends of the pipes are mounted upon brackets such as the bracket 2i (Fig. 4) which has clips 28, 28 spot-welded to it and adapted to fit over the vertical webs of the longitudinal angle irons it (or IE or E5), and to secure the brackets in the positions to which they are slid upon the angle irons, for adjustment, set screws 29, 29 are mounted in the clips and are adapted to bear against the angle irons.

Suitable means is provided for driving the rolls, said means comprising a motor at and the sprocket chain 8i, fixed-axis shafts 32, 33 and 3%, suitable sprockets, and sprocket chains 35, 3t, 37, 31 and it, it.

The construction is such that the rolls it serve as cradle rollsior rotating the pipes 23 and it is found not only that the drying of the pipes is quicker and more even, air being circulated in the drying chamber past the rack and hitting different sides of the pipes as they are rotated, but also that warp, out-of-round and other deiormities of the pipes are corrected during the drying operation.

For similarly supporting and truing-up the bell of the pipe at the same time it has been found suflicient to employ (Fig. 5) a single supporting roll 39 mounted upon a lever 40 and held up against the bell by an adjustable counterweight ti on the lever; or a pair of rolls 4!, 42 (Fig. 6) mounted upon a lever i3 and urged upward against the bell by an adjustable pull spring at;

or even a roll 41 (Fig. '7) mounted on a lever 48, on an axis transverse to that of the pipe, and bearing against only the edge face of the bell, under the force of a pull spring 49.

Another expedient for truing-up the bell is shown in Fig. 8 and comprises a roll 50 mounted on a horizontal axis and adapted to bear against the lower face of the bell and a disk 51 mounted on the same axis as the roll 50 but free to rotate independently of it and to bear, with its side face, against the edge face of the bell.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and the pipes are supported on a driven belt 52 and are prevented from traveling with it by respective rolls 53, 53, an idler belt 54 being provided for supporting and truing-up the bells, and this arrangement has been found to serve quite effectively.

In the modification shown in Figs. 11 to 13 a driven roll 55 for the body of the pipe and an idler roll 56 for the bell are mounted upon the same shaft 5'! and are adapted to support the pipe internally, the roll 55 driving it, the shaft 57 being mounted in half-bearings 58, 58 so that the pipe can be readily hung upon the rolls.

A T-pipe 59 having a laterally projecting bell 60 is here shown mounted upon the rolls and, to assure that the frictional contact of the pipe with the roll 55 will be sufficient to cause the pipe to rotate, a counterweight 6| for the bell 60 is secured upon the opposite side of the pipe, as by means of straps 62, 6'2 provided with adjustable buckles such as the buckle 63 (Fig. 13).

Preferably the counterweight is of lead so as to be sufiiciently heavy although of crescent shape for large area of contact with the pipe and for short leverage, both the large area and the short leverage being desirable for avoidance of deformation of the pipe by a prying action.

Preferably variable speed driving means is employed, as to all of the embodiments described, as a faster speed is desirable for preventing excessive deformation of the pipe by gravity in the earlier part of the drying operation, while the pipe is still relatively soft.

Further modifications are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A method of truing up and drying ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitu dinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe and subjecting it to a drying atmosphere, the pipe being rotated more rapidly in an early stage than in a later stage of the drying.

2. A method of truing up ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the speed of rotation being correlated to the degree of softness of the pipe by reduction of the speed during the truing-up operation.

3. A method of drying ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe and subjecting it to a drying atmosphere, the pipe being rotated more rapidly in an early stage than in a later stage of the drying.

4. A method of truing up ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by two external longitudinally dis- -posed zones of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the speed of rotation being correlated to the degree of softness of the pipe by reduction of the speed during the truing-up operation.

. 5. A method of truing up ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one internal longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the speed of rotation being correlated to the degree of softness of the pipe.

6. A method of drying ceramic pipe which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the pipe being rotated by the said contact and the speed of rotation being correlated to the degree of softness of the pipe by reduction of the speed during the truing-up operation.

7. A method of drying ceramic pipe of the bell type which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the pipe being rotated by the said contact in its body region but not in its bell region.

8. A method of drying ceramic pipe having a laterally-projecting fluid-conducting portion which comprises rotating it on a longitudinal axis while supporting it by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of internal contact substantially coextensive with the length of the pipe, the pipe having a laterally projecting fluidconducting portion and being internally supported as defined.

9. Apparatus of the character described comprising rotary means for supporting a pipe by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact and means for driving at least a part of the rotary supporting means, the supporting means comprising driven means for the body portion of a bell pipe and idler means for the bell portion.

10. Apparatus of the character described comprising rotary means for supporting a pipe by two external longitudinally disposed zones of contact and means for driving at least a part of the rotary supporting means, the supporting means comprising driven means for the body portion of a bell pipe and idler means for the bell portion.

11. Apparatus of the character described comprising rotary means for supporting a pipe by at least one interna1 longitudinally disposed zone of contact and means for driving at least a part of the rotary supporting means, the supporting means comprising driven means for the body portion of a bell pipe and idler means for the bell portion.

12. Apparatus of the character described comprising rotary means for internally supporting by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact a pipe having a laterally-projecting fluid-conducting portion, means for driving said rotary supporting means, and means for at least partially counter-balancing the said laterallyprojecting portion.

13. Apparatus of the character described comprising rotary means for internally supporting by at least one longitudinally disposed zone of contact a pipe having a laterally-projecting fluid-conducting portion, means for driving said rotary supporting means, and means for at least partially counterbalancing the said laterallyprojecting portion, the last said means comprising a heavy member of substantially crescent shaped cross-section for large contact area and short leverage and means for securing the said member upon the pipe.

14. Apparatus of the character described comprising an endless belt adapted to support a pluv rality of tubular articles to be dried; means for driving the belt, and roller means adapted to bear against the tubular articles in rolling con- 10 tact therewith to prevent conveyance of the respective articles and thereby to cause them to 

